The Magical Land of Noom

by Johnny Gruelle

Overview

Come on a high-flying adventure with Johnny and Janey as they travel from their own backyard to the mysterious enchanted kingdom they discover on the other side of the moon.

When Johnny and Janey build their Flying Machine out of old boards and wooden spools, the last thing they expect is to actually take off! But that's just what happens, and before they know it, they're soaring high above the clouds on their way to the Magical Land of Noom.

Filled with such wonders as mushrooms that taste of ginger cake, and flowing springs of lemonade, Noom seems like a paradise to the children. But soon they discover there is a wicked magician-and the plot thickens. . . .

This engaging tale, filled with quirky characters, is the brainchild of Johnny Gruelle, creator of Raggedy Ann and Andy. Although The Magical Land of Noom never gained the enormous popularity of the Raggedy Ann and Andy stories, it is arguably one of Gruelle's finest and most unforgettable works. Sought after by collectors and passed on from generation to generation, Gruelle's exquisite watercolor panels and whimsical pen-and-ink drawings have delighted readers for years.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781626540019
Publisher:	Echo Point Books & Media
Publication date:	03/31/2013
Pages:	182
Product dimensions:	7.50(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.44(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Johnny Gruelle was a newspaper man who began writing stories about Raggedy Ann at the turn of the century, in order to entertain his ailing daughter, Marcella. He wrote many stories about the rag doll and her brother Raggedy Andy, including two collections, Raggedy Ann Stories and Raggedy Andy Stories. Though Mr. Gruelle died in 1938, his legacy is continued by his family and the millions around the world who have been touched by his simple messages of love, respect, and friendship.

Johnny Gruelle was a newspaper man who began writing stories about Raggedy Ann at the turn of the century, in order to entertain his ailing daughter, Marcella. He wrote many stories about the rag doll and her brother Raggedy Andy, including two collections, Raggedy Ann Stories and Raggedy Andy Stories. Though Mr. Gruelle died in 1938, his legacy is continued by his family and the millions around the world who have been touched by his simple messages of love, respect, and friendship.

Peter Glassman is the owner of Books of Wonder, the New York City bookstore and publisher specializing in new and old imaginative books for children. He is also the editor of the Books of Wonder Classics, a series of deluxe facsimiles and newly illustrated editions of timeless tales. And he is the author of The Wizard Next Door, illustrated by Steven Kellogg. Mr. Glassman lives in New York City.

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER ONE

Johnny And Janey Fly Away To The Moon

Gran'pa had finished building the chicken coop and he walked out in front of the house to speak to a neighbor.

Johnny and Janey, who had been watching Gran'pa with such interest, grew tired of waiting for his return.

"Let's build a Flying Machine," Johnny said after a while. "Grand'pa has finished and will not need the boards that are left and we can find plenty of nails."

"Do you think we can build a Flying Machine?" asked Janey, delighted at the idea.

"Easily!" Johnny told her. "Of course we can't make one that will really fly, but we can pretend that it goes 'way up in the air."

"It will be loads of fun!" cried Janey, and she jumped up and down and smiled.

So Johnny got an old box and nailed four or five boards to the sides for wings.

"It should have a sail," Janey said.

" Yes, it needs a sail and a mast and a rudder," replied Johnny. "Run in and ask Gran'ma for an old sheet to make the sail of, will you, Janey? I'll be putting on a mast and the rudder."

When Janey came running back with an old sheet she cried, I just thought! We must have something to start and stop the Flying Machine with, so Gran'ma gave me two empty spools. We can use them."

"Just the thing! " Johnny answered. " I'll put them at the front of the box and label one 'Start' and the other 'Stop.'"

"How can we guide the Flying Machine when we get to flying?" Janey asked. "When we make believe we're flying, I mean."

"I've put only one nail in the rudder," Johnny replied, "so that by pulling on these strings we can guide it. See?" And Johnny showed his sister how the board with only one nail in it turned from side to side as he pulled the strings.

"Oh! That's fine!" Janey exclaimed. "I'll ask Gran'ma if we may have some lunch to take with us on our trip," she added, as she ran into the house.

When Janey came out with a tiny basket of lunch Johnny had marked "Polly Ann" on both sides of the box. He had fastened the sail made from the old sheet to a stick and run a string through a screw-eye, so that the sail could be raised or lowered whenever they might wish.

"Let's see!" Johnny mused. "Have we everything we need?"

"Well, here are the wings, the rudder, the 'Start' and 'Stop' spools and the sail," Janey told him. "I think that is all, don't you ?"

"All right, then, Sis! Put the lunch on one of the sails. No!" and Johnny hammered a nail on one side of the box," hang the basket of lunch there and climb in. It's going to be a tight squeeze for both of us. But it won't take this Flying Machine long to get to Mars or Venus or the Moon, and we can get out and rest on some of the Stars if we get tired."

"Let's go to the Moon first, and then to the Milky Way! Janey cried.

"All right, if you are ready!" Johnny agreed, as he sat in the bottom of the box, in front of Janey. "Hold your hat, Sis, for here she goes!"

And Johnny turned one of the spools in the front of the box.

" Oh! isn't the view grand from up here, Johnny! " Janey cried. "See, there is Gran'ma's house 'way down below, and we are getting closer to the Moon all the time! "

"Those are queer birds flying by, Sis," said Johnny, who could make believe any way he liked. "Can you make out what they are?"

"Yes," Janey answered, as she looked at the chickens in the yard, "they are Eagles. See that beautiful big one with the red comb? That's a Roc!"

"My, I wish this Flying Machine would really Fly!

Johnny said, a little later. "But it's fun pretending anyway. Let's get out at the next Star, Sis, and eat our lunch. I didn't eat much breakfast and I'm hungry!"

"All right, Brud!" said Janey, who wasn't tired of the play either. "Wait a minute! " as Johnny started to climb out of the box. "You forgot to stop the Flying Machine."

"Well, I'll bring it to a stop very slowly," Johnny told her. "So that we won't strike these mountain-tops and tip over!"

And he turned the "Stop" spool a fraction of an inch.

Neither of the children was prepared for what followed.

The Polly Ann shot up over the fence, suddenly, scattering the startled chickens in all directions, and as Johnny and Janey crouched low in the box the familiar objects about the farm whizzed by them like bullets.

"We are really going!" Janey gasped, as they sped upward. "I feel as if I'd like to jump!"

At this Johnny caught his sister's foot and held it tight.

"Don't look over the side until you get used to flying!" he cautioned her, very wisely.

"Twist the other spool!" Janey told him. "I don't like to be up so high. Everything seems so small."

Johnny gave the other spool a twist and the Flying Machine swept ahead at twice its former speed.

"You're twisting the wrong spool! " Janey screamed.

"You must have been twisting the wrong one all the time, somehow. See, you've been twisting the one marked 'Start."'

"Sure enough! That's just what I did," Johnny admitted. "Well, I'll twist the other now."